Google Maps Adds New Biking Layer

So awesome! Check it out and let Google know how to improve it and add things that are still missing. Luckily, they will listen, as evidenced by the addition of this feature ito Googlemaps in the first place, due to the feedback from 50,000 cyclists. Here’s some info from the Business and Tech section of the Seattle times:

The “Bicycling” layer coming to Google Maps isn’t a technological tour de force, but it looks like a fun and useful feature for cyclists, especially those visiting a new area and looking for places to ride. It’s also been the most requested addition to Google Maps, with an online petition calling for bike routes drawing more than 50,000 signatures.

Google worked with the national Rails to Trails Conservancy to add the group’s trail maps,combining them with publicly available bike-route information.

But the maps are still incomplete. Google hopes users will help fill in the gaps, suggest routes and make corrections using the “report a problem” feature.

“We really are thinking of all this data as a starter set,” said Shannon Guymon, project manager for driving directions and lead on the bike routes.

Maps display three tiers of bike routes — bike trails such as the Burke Gilman, dedicated bike lanes on streets and roads, and roads without bike lanes that are appropriate for biking.

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